Hate water? You're missing key health benefits

By Jessica Yadegaran, Bay Area News Group

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

It can help you lose weight.

It can increase mental clarity.

And, when you drink enough, it can promote energy and stamina.

Plain water is having what appears to be its moment in the spotlight. With the ongoing debate about sugary sodas in the news and Michelle Obama’s recently launched Drink Up campaign, more people are talking about H20.

The first lady’s timing is good: By the end of this decade, if not sooner, sales of bottled water — plain and fizzy — are expected to surpass those of carbonated soft drinks, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation. The shift is the result of many factors, including innovations in bottling technology that have helped lower the price of water. If the estimated drinking of water from the tap is included, water consumption actually began exceeding soda consumption around 2008, according to the report.

But just because we’re buying more water doesn’t necessarily mean we’re adequately hydrated. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and a study it conducted earlier this year, most Americans aren’t meeting the recommendations for water intake.

Even people who drink water regularly, like Kelly Grey, a personal assistant in Lafayette, admit it is hard to keep up the habit week to week. “I get busy and forget,” says Grey, 37. However, when she does reach her goal — about 32 ounces from the tap chilled and sipped by the glass daily — Grey says she notices a difference in her health and appearance.

“The more water I drink, the more I realize how good it is for me,” says Grey, who likes the taste especially when it’s filtered. “My skin looks plumper, the (under-eye) dark circles disappear and my stomach’s flatter.”

According to Norback and numerous medical studies, including one published in 2010 by obesity researcher and University of North Carolina nutrition professor Barry Popkin, proper hydration is linked to better overall health, improved cognitive function, agility, and weight control, or, in some people, weight loss.

“Sometimes, you think you’re hungry when you’re really just thirsty, so if you just drink water, you might find yourself satiated,” says Norback, who works at Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center. “Water is filling.”

But, and this is an important note: If you’re already hydrated, drinking more water won’t make much of a difference in your health. “It will make you go to the bathroom more and probably make your urine lighter than the light yellow we aim for,” Norback says.

Water, quite literally, is life: Sixty to 70 percent of our body is made of water and the majority of our blood is water, so when that volume dips, functionality is thrown off, she explains. Water protects our organs, keeps our tissues moist, prevents constipation and dissolves minerals and other nutrients to make them accessible to the body. Deprive your body even a little and you might feel dizzy or suffer from headaches and a sticky mouth.

But, how much water do we need? We’ve all heard eight to 10 glasses, but it actually depends on the individual and his or her needs. Norback says to let thirst and the color of your urine be your guide. She also suggests following the Institute of Medicine’s guidelines for fluids: 2.7 liters (91 ounces; about 11 cups) for women; and 3.7 liters (125 ounces, about 15 cups), for men, per day.

“I would suggest about two thirds of total fluid intake come from good old water,” she says. “The remainder could come from milk or milk substitutes, noncaloric beverages such as plain tea or coffee, as well as the fluid that naturally occurs in food.” About 20 percent of our fluid intake can come from hydrating foods, like lettuce and watermelon, she says.

Food aside, most Americans don’t meet the guidelines. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 35 percent of Americans drink four to seven cups a day while 22 percent drink eight cups or more. The rest of us drink zero to three cups daily.

Why is it so hard for us to drink plain water — and do the flavored waters, like Vitamin Water, which has about 7.5 grams of sugar per bottle, count? Not for Norback.

“I’d rather see people cut up some cucumber slices or fruit and put it in their water pitcher than consume drinks with sugar or sugar substitutes,” Norback says. “Some people say they don’t like the taste of water. Others get busy and sometimes ignore the body’s needs until it makes the message loud and clear.”

To encourage more water drinking, Norback suggests serving a glass of water at mealtimes and keeping a fresh bottle of water in the cup holder of the car.

Two years ago, Jeff Satz of San Jose began making those types of lifestyle changes when he decided to “get healthy,” start cycling, and drink more water. At the urging of his doctor, Satz, an engineer, increased his water intake to 10 glasses per day as a way to ease joint pain and squelch fatigue. It took a few months to “remind” himself to drink it. Now, he realizes how dehydrated he was.

“I feel more energetic,” says Satz, who is 47 and drinks his water from a refillable glass bottle. He says having a bright-colored bottle on his desk and access to a water cooler at work helped him meet his goals. “I crave the crisp taste, and when I drink something else, like juice or coffee, I have to drink water after it to quench my thirst.”

Anisha Patel, an assistant professor in the Division of General Pediatrics at UCSF, says starting early, as a youngster, is a good way to make the water habit stick. The water requirements for adolescents are less than they are for adults, but not by much: For young males (ages 4-18), the Institute of Medicine suggests 1.3 to 3.3 liters; for females in the same age group, 1.3 to 2.3 liters.

But, according to a 2011 study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, among adolescents, plain water accounted for only 33 percent of total fluid intake, with the remainder coming from sugary beverages, like soda and energy drinks. That’s cause for concern, Patel says.

“Even mild dehydration can cause reduced cognition and physical performance in children,” says Patel, whose research on water accessibility has helped get more clean, fresh drinking water onto school campuses.

So, how does Patel encourage her daughters, 2 and 7, to drink more water at home? She uses the same strategy as Norback.

“I put citrus slices into a big jug of tap water and chill it in the fridge,” she says. “It makes it more palatable and refreshing to them.”